Aprilia’s Racing Director Massimo Rivola believes he is better equipped than ever for the 2022 MotoGP season with Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales and wants to keep both riders
Aprilia presented themselves competitive from the start at the MotoGP test with a double lead on day one and both riders in the top 5 on day two, leaving a lasting impression on the other MotoGP teams.
The Italian manufacturer from Noale admittedly enjoyed the advantage of having already been present at the shakedown thanks to concessions. Nevertheless, a fresh wind seems to be blowing through the team, which after years in association with Gresini Racing will compete as an official MotoGP factory team in 2022.
The rider pairing certainly contributes to this: Aleix Espargaro, who has been with Aprilia’s MotoGP project from the start, was joined by Maverick Vinales during the course of last season. The two were already teammates at Suzuki in 2015/16.
Rivola speaks of the strongest rider duo in the field
For Vinales, 2022 will be his first full season with Aprilia, having contested five races for them last year. And while the changes to the RS-GP in general and Vinales’ support team in particular seem to be starting to bear fruit, Massimo Rivola has high hopes for his rider duo.
“I think that in terms of riders we probably have the strongest pair in the paddock. And I mean that sincerely. “That puts pressure on us technicians. “
With 2023 in mind, Rivola therefore has no intention of looking for alternatives for his two current riders, whose contracts expire at the end of this season.
Aprilia wants to keep Espargaro and Vinales for 2023
“In the case of Aleix, we want him to stay with us. If he wants to extend his contract, we are happy for him to continue,” Rivola said of the Spaniard, who turns 33 in July. “I think he is one of the fittest riders in the peloton and he really wants to win with Aprilia. Those are two very important elements.”
“Also, we already know each other very well and we know how to read his reactions when he sometimes freaks out because something goes wrong,” Rivola continues, stressing in reference to Espargaro’s teammate Vinales, “that he has the perfect age to stay with us for many more years. “
